


The Annoyance of Interruptions

by Merlioske



Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-02 15:28:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6571600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merlioske/pseuds/Merlioske
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So she left the Spirit World with his promise to meet ringing in her ears. So she waited. And waited. So where is he? And what's up with all the interruptions?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is what i saw after the movie ended. In my opinion the ending was kinda crap and a bit cut of so, here‘s my version of what happened next.  
> Also, for the sake of this fic, I have decided that Chihiro was eleven when she left the Spirit World.

‚He said we'd meet again. He frickin' promised. So why hasn't he come..?' she sighed as she watched the silent rain drops falling behind the window.

"Waiting for your non-existing boyfriend again, eh Chihi? Why couldn't you simply accept one, or even a few of those invites you get daily for a change?" Chihiro turned around and managed a sad smile for her best girlfriend Yue.

"Guess you could say so… but not really. I'm just watching the rain, Yu. And I don't feel like accepting. Most of those guys are idiots anyway…" her friend plopped her bum on the windowsill with a worried expression.

"Whoa… you usually get all fired up and deny that he's non-existing… not to mention that he's NOT your boyfriend, but … just a friend you're waiting for."

"…just a friend I'm waiting for." they both finished together, making Chihiro laugh." that's cuz he is, and I still do." Yue sighed.

"For how many years now? Eight? Ten? I think if he was gonna show, he'd been here by now…" Chihiro rolled her eyes at her friend's exaggeration.

"You know perfectly well it's only…well, not only but still, been seven. And if he wasn't, means he simply can't yet. But he will, when he's able. I just know it…" sighing again Yue pulled out a pack of bubble gum and started chewing on a piece.

"You know – pop – in these times – pop – I think – pop pop- there's nothing wrong – pop – if you'd be the one to go to – POP – him." Chihiro was about to strangle her for all the popping, but the idea actually was not half bad, wasn't it?

"You know… that is actually a very nice idea..." she muttered, her mind already weaving one plan after another, but just in that moment her eyes widened and a full-blown smile blossomed on her face. "But you know what? I don't think I'll be needing to go anywhere after all." and with that she ran.

"Wait what..?" barely managed Yue, but her friend was already far away. She looked out of the window then and… cursed, smile tugging on her lips.

"I'll be damned. He finally showed after all…"

The rain was pouring down on her while she stood still, in the middle of the path, drinking in what she saw before her. There, on a huge boulder half-standing half-crouching was He. The one she'd been waiting for seven long years. He smiled and the tears simply started falling.

"Hi." he said watching those tears mix with the falling rain. She shook her head. She rubbed her eyes. She shook her head again and started rubbing her eyes again. His jump from the rock was too slow to call it a jump, yet he wasn't really floating either. He simply landed right in front of her and gently took her hands in his, thus stopping the continuous rubbing. He removed her hands from her face and slowly touched his forehead to hers. That forced a loud sob out of her and then she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him straight on the mouth, all the pent up longing and everything else that she's been feeling these last seven years woven into that kiss. He gave a surprised 'umph!', but still managed to put his arms around her waist and even into the kiss. And there they stood, locked in an embrace, as cliché as it sounds, kissing in the rain.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaamn… but ain't that just – pop- sexy…." sighed Yue, still shamelessly watching the happenings from the window. "And of course, how could he possibly be her boyfriend… Nah-uh, of course he's just her friend. Please…." The bell chose exactly that moment to ring and Yue snickered. "Guess she won't be in any more classes today huh…" and she proceeded to go to class and tell the teacher that 'Chihiro suddenly fell ill, so she went home and I hope that's alright, and of course I'll be sure to give her all the notes…'

Meanwhile, said Chihiro was happily being embraced in the middle of the yard. When they finally managed to pull away from each other, she smiled.

"Finally." Haku smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"I had to finish my training… Sorry it took so long." Chihiro hid her face on his chest and sighed.

"How is everyone? Lin? Uncle Kamadzi? Dzeniba and Noface? Yubaba?" hugging her, he chuckled as he tried to answer everything at once.

"Lin's doing good… the last I heard she's been traveling around the Spirit World on the train. She sends me a letter once in a while. Been asking about you in each and every one, mind you. Kamadzi's been extremely helpful with… what's been going on in the Bath House… Dzeniba and Noface have become regulars now that Yubaba has gone and retired." he took a deep breath. "And I think I've answered everything for now and don't you think we should get out of this rain before to turn to water ourselves?" Chihiro laughed at his rapid speech and nodded.

"We definitely should. Let's go. My parents are working right now, so my house is empty." trying to keep his thoughts clean and within the limits of decency, after all, teenager that he was, Haku nodded, took her hand for which he got a smile that light up the skies and followed her. Once they reached their destination, Chihiro motioned for Haku to take a seat 'like anywhere you want' and went to make some coffee, giving him time to observe her house and her in her home environment. Truth be told, he liked what he saw – she was free and happy and she was constantly talking to him, telling all that happened to her during their time apart. He simply didn't have the heart to tell her he knew all that already, from his…um… surveillance *cough* stalking *cough*. When asked later, though, Haku'd confess that he didn't remember a thing they said that day in Chi's kitchen. He was too busy drinking in her picture. The rain was pouring down behind the window and the little drops were playing a quiet, alluring song that, doubled with dimmed lights in the kitchen, were creating quite an atmosphere. Atmosphere, that Chihiro seemed quite oblivious to, contrary to Haku, who was getting more aware of it by the second. "Here we go,"- said Chihiro, putting a cup of hot coffee before him. "Careful, it's really hot."

"It is indeed." murmured Haku taking a sip.

"Did you say something?" she asked good naturedly, making Haku raise his head to look at her and consequently groan. She was still wet from the rain and since all she had on was a pair of cotton pants and a jumper, that was way too light considering the weather and that now clung quite tightly around her body becoming almost see-through, Haku's groan was relatively understandable, was it not? Still quite oblivious to what exactly was the problem, Chihiro simply raised an eyebrow at him in question. Standing up quickly and taking her hand, Haku started towards what, in his logic, was supposed to be her bedroom all the while silently cursing under his breath. "Haku..?" Chihiro asked a bit confused ablout what exactly was going on.

"You're all wet." He spat. "You need to change now before I… I mean, before you get a cold… Geez, to think you'd become at least a little more sensible after seven years…" that earned him a whack over the head which he laughed of and then proceeded to apologize by turning around, gluing her to the wall and then kissing her breath away. Moaning, she accepted his kiss, giving herself to him freely, submitting her will and then giving back, as much as he was giving her. Her hands slid into his hair, her nails scraping his scalp, extracting an almost primal groan from him, making his kisses last even longer, become even hotter, even more hard to resist, making them lose their minds in one another. Haku lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, closing the last bit of distance that existed between them. Pulling away from Chihiro in order to catch his breath turned out to be a mistake. Her lips were puffed and rosy, her breathing shallow and her eyes…her eyes looked glazed over and in a trance like state.

"More…"- she whimpered leaning back into him and that was when Haku realized in how much trouble exactly he was in… taking a quick step back, he lowered Chihiro back on the ground and put his hands in his pockets, just to be safe. "What's wrong?" she asked sounding completely lost and unfocused and just sooooooo vulnerable that he cursed.

"I shouldn't have….we shouldn't be…"Chihiro shook her head, trying to get the fluff in her mind to disintegrate.

"I don't understand. Was it me? Did I do something wrong? If so then …" but he interrupted by shaking his head violently.

"Stop. Don't, even for a second think that you did something wrong. That's simply impossible. It's just that… I think maybe we hurried a bit too much. I mean, I just got here, and even if I have to admit being here affects me quite a bit more than I might have anticipated… and you're so young and I just don't want to…" her snort interrupted his monologue.

"Do what, exactly? Ruin me? And what's this about me being young? What about you? I thought we were about the same age, weren't we?" at that, Haku sighed and took her hand again, leading her to her room. She did need a new change of clothes and he didn't mind siting down. Plus, it would give some distance in between them, which was also rather favorable at the moment. Chihiro motioned for him to sit on her bed, grabbed a few items from her closet and went into her bathroom, leaving the door half-open so that she could hear what he was saying. Plopping his bum down on the bed, trying to ignore the fact that it was in fact, her bed, Haku started talking again.

"You remember how, when you spent a month or so in the Spirit World it seemed like just a few days have passed here?" there was an agreeing hum from the bathroom so he continued. "Well, as it turns out, time goes quite a lot faster there, than it does here. After you left…well, for you it might have looked like seven years, but for me it was more like twice that time." since there was complete silence in the bathroom, he sighed and continued. "That's why I managed to finally finish my studies under Yubaba and that's why so many things changed since you left. The Bath House is a completely different place now. Everything's different. And even if I don't really look that much older than you, I actually am, but since there's no aging in Spirit World, my appearance hasn't changed that much and technically I am a teenager here, in this world. That's probably why it's so hard to keep my hands for myself…" he murmured the last part so she wouldn't hear.

"I…see…" finally came from the bathroom and Haku sighed in relief, but then he gulped and counted to thirty in his mind. In French. Then in German. And in Russian. Chihiro smirked. "I take it you like it then?" Haku swallowed again. She spread her hands gracefully and slowly twirled for him a few times. "Got this thingy a few months ago. Quite in time, I must admit." all he could do was nod. Honestly now, what else was he supposed to do? The only thing she had on was lingerie; the kind women's best friend would make a point of giving her on the first night of the honeymoon. Chihiro smiled while she watched herself in the mirror. "To be honest, I thought of strangling Yue when she gave this to me, but now I think I kinda like it." Clearing his throat, Haku nodded.

"Yeah, do remind me to thank her when you introduce us." she giggled.

"Oh really?"

"Oh yeah." he answered, noting that his voice had a husky shade to it now, but not really caring anymore. Haku stood up and walked towards the girl that was still watching herself in the mirror. Just… she wasn't exactly watching herself, rather than, she was following every move he made through that mirror. Maybe that was the reason why a blush started coloring her cheeks once she noticed the predatory look he had, slowly walking towards her. Wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled her to his body and planted a gentle kiss on the back of her neck, all the while holding her eyes with his in the mirror. "If you strived to achieve complete annihilation of my common sense, you succeeded." he whispered, planting another kiss, this time, right below her ear.

"No complaints then." at his raised eyebrow she turned around and ran her hands up and down his chest. "What? A girl can dream…" with that she leaned in and closed her eyes, surrendering control so completely that he simply couldn't not kiss her. And kiss he did, full with hands wandering all over, bodies molding together kind of kiss, that made Chihiro weak in the knees. He moved them lightly towards the bed and she was only glad to follow, however… just when he was about to lie her down, a strange sound filled the room. Haku sighed and stepped away from the bed, getting a strange shell kind of a thing from his robes. It turned even stranger, when he put that thing to his ear and started talking.

"For your sake I hope this is a life or death kind of situation Yoing." Chihiro lifted a brow and Haku rolled his eyes. "Of course I am. That's why I specifically said 'only disturb me in life or death situation'." there was a moment of silence and Haku sighed, sitting down lotus pose on the ground. "What do you mean, you're out of lobster rolls? I made sure that there would be literally a ton of them!" his frustration made him rise in the air and in turn, made Chihiro gape. Haku smirked when he saw her reaction and… turned upside down in the same siting position as if it was nothing. That made her laugh and forced a smile out of him even though after a moment he sighed again. "You are officially an idiot Yoing. Consider yourself fired as soon as I'm back… oh, really? You can? Well then, let's see you prove that with actions rather than with words." finished Haku and put the shell back into his robe.

"You forgot to mention that you're in charge of the Bath House now." said Chihiro making him flinch.

"Didn't really think it mattered, to be honest…" the girl raised her brow.

"Oh reaaaaaally?"

"Why does it matter, m?" asked Haku obviously uncomfortable with the subject. He stood up and went to sit beside her on the bed. "I'm much more interested in what we were doing before this untimely interruption."

"Are you now?" Chihiro purred swinging her hands around his shoulders casually, lightly running her fingers through his hair. "I…" she was interrupted by the doorbell. "Ugh! What now?" she stood up angrily and was about to run through the door, except for Haku's hand on her arm, efficiently stopping her.

"Put something on before you go, yeah? I'll open the door in the meantime." blushing she nodded and ran to her closet while he went to open the door. "Yes? How can I be of service to you?" he asked smiling to the girl that stood behind the door. She let out a low whistle.

"Damn, but you're one fit guy. No wonder she's been waiting, huh…" and with no further ado, the rather peculiar girl went right in all the while commenting as she went. "And you're all…well, still dressed, huh? Wasn't expecting so much self-control to be honest with ya…"

"Please, come right in." was Haku's only comment as he, completely baffled, closed the door. Following the stranger into the living room he was about to politely inquire what the heck she was doing here, but thankfully, Chihiro beat him to the punch, waltzing in the room with a dress so flow-y and beautiful that it took his breath away.

"Yue! WHY are you here?" her friend chuckled and popped her gum.

"Heh, guess there's no need to ask if I'm interrupting huh?" Chihiro growled and Yue whistled again. "Okay okay! Damn you for always being so frickin' serious, geez. I came to give you the notes of today's class. I copied them all for you. No need to thank me." Chihiro arched a brow.

"And you couldn't possibly have given them to me tomorrow because...?" her white haired friend laughed.

"As if you're gonna be in school tomorrow. When you got this guy here? Please. That's just too hilarious." with a thoughtful expression, Haku chipped in.

"You know… she kinda has a point." Chihiro smacked him over the head blushing like crazy.

"I do not know you two… anyway, Yu, you gave me the notes, thank you oh so very much. Can you go now?" the girl laughed again and popping her gum she winked at Haku.

"Nice to finally see your handsome ass where it belongs, pretty. Chihi, I'll see you… soon I dare hope." and kissing her friend she left, with her branded 'pop' behind her.

Facing each other, Haku and Chihiro laughed aloud at the strangeness of the situation. When they laughter subsided, Haku took a step closer and pulled her close to him once again.

"Finally…we're…" and… the strange sound of his shell interrupted them again. At this point, Chihiro was honestly considering either throwing that damned shell out the window, either pulling her hair out from frustration, or, taking Haku to the basement, locking them in, throwing away the key and then burning that damned shell in the fireplace. While she was contemplating the most cruel way to kill the poor communication device, Haku, albeit cursing, still answered. "You feel like dying?" was his first question and his girl had to admit, it cheered her up a bit. "What did you just say? … what do you mean it blew up? … … … what do you mean the Radish Spirit was it in at the time? … … … What do you mean the Chicken Spirits went on a rampage? How in the world would Chicken Spirits even GO on a freaking rampage? … … … … … Now you're just pulling one on me, aren't you? Tell me you're joking, Yoing! … … … …. If it wasn't already clear enough – you are way past fired now. … What I mean is, that I'm promising you, I'll make sure that you're eradicated from Spirit World so fast you won't even be able to blink in time to see yourself going!" Chihiro was stunned. Since when did her River had such power? It seemed that she had really missed a lot while she was here… well, they will just have to fix that, now won't they? Her ponderings were interrupted by Haku's sigh after he hung up.

"So, it seems we got tons to talk about doesn't it?" she asked smiling, but the look he gave her was serious.

"Chi, I have to go back." before she could even register what he said, he threw her another blow. "And I have to go now." blinking once, then twice, gave Chihiro enough time to think the situation over.

"Would I be able to get to the Spirit World through the tunnel?" she asked him instantly and smirked at his surprise.

"Y-yeah, you would. Since you have my permission, you can come and go to my world as you please. But… why are you asking?" she swung her arms around his neck again.

"I left you once, shame on you. I let you go twice – that'd be shame on me. And I'll be damned, if I make myself wait for another seven years to be with you."

"Chi…" she shushed him.

"Do you, or do you not, want to be with me?" he shook his head in disbelief, his arms wounding around her without him even realizing it.

"Of course I want to be with you. Always. I want you, no, I need you by my side." she nodded, trying to hide the little blush that blossomed on her cheeks.

"It's decided then – you go back now and I'll come as soon as I make all the necessary arrangements." at his raised eyebrow she rolled her eyes. "School and parents and stuff."

"Okay then." Haku smiled and his smile made her go puddle. "In that case, I'll be waiting for you. In the Bath House, at the top floor." with that his lips landed on hers again and the passion bloomed. Her fingers swam in his hair, his hands were sliding all over her body, as if he was trying to memorize all of her lines. It was a breath stealing, mind dizzying kind of kiss that left them both breathless.

"I'll see you soon. she whispered when she saw him turning see-through.

"I'll be waiting. My, Chi." he whispered back and then he was gone, leaving only the sense of his smile in the air, and the shadow of his kiss on her lips.

When Chihiro's parents got home that evening, their daughter met them in the dining room, with a steaming dinner on the table. After they ate, she stood up and smiled at her parents.

"Mother, Father, I would like to ask how you would feel if I was to go on a journey..?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Heels, Chihiro, really? Heels? Bloody brilliant…" Chihiro muttered under her breath as she, painstakingly slowly, climbed the rocky hill…

It took her almost four months. Four months before she finally managed to even start planning her trip to see him. It was summer now, the school was out and Chihiro finally, finally was doing it. It took begging and cursing and swearing up and down to her parents that she'll be safe, sound and protected for them to even consider allowing her this. The whole four months Yue kept on laughing her ass off every day Chihiro would come to school and it took all Chihiro had, to just not strangle her best friend then and there. Those four months felt like forty years and every day felt like hell. And the worst thing… it wasn't even the longing, nor the share and pure desire to see him, touch him, feel him. It was the dreams. The dreams she had almost every night. She would close her eyes and she would see him, right there, in front of her, smiling, calling her closer. And she would go to him. And he would hug her; he would lean over her, his lips soft and slow on hers, his hands, caressing her body, his eyes, boring into hers. And then, just when they were about to… the alarm would go off, the thunder would strike right outside her window, the fireworks would start randomly or her little brother would jump on her bed and, alas, on her, yelling Indian shouts and claiming victory of her bed (his new conquered territory). All of these interruptions, intentional or not, were gradually not only wearing her out, but also making her more frustrated by the second. And a frustrated Chihiro, was a cranky Chihiro. And Chihiro, as a rule, was never cranky, so now that she was, her parents were completely baffled. They had no clue what was going on with their little girl and they were getting worried. One night, when Chihiro and Yue had their usual "girls night-sleepover-ice-cream feast-pillow fight" Chi's mother was walking down the corridor and just happened to overhear what the two girls were talking about.

"…so, you're saying that now –pop- he's waiting for you?"

"Yeah…and I told him I'd be right there… but look at me! I'm still here… and he's there…and I'm just…"

"-pop-"

"Oh, Yue… I just… I just want to see him so, so bad…" after another pop, all Chihiro's mother could hear were silent sobs and hushed Yue's voice trying to calm her daughter down. That same evening as the older woman was climbing into the bed, she addressed her husband.

"You know, darling, Chihiro has never really asked for anything, has she..?" her husband put the paper down, took his glasses of and rubbed his tired eyes.

"Your point being?" mother sighed and bit her lip.

"Well, maybe we should let her take that trip she's been asking so much for… after all, it's just for the summer." Father took one look at his wife, ready to object, but… something in her eyes stopped him and the man simply nodded.

And that is how, now, on the first day of summer break, Chihiro was marching up a hill, after leaving her car in front of the tunnel, carrying a huge backpack, wearing heels, miniskirt, appropriately low cleavage and make-up all in place. Except for the heels… which were a truly, very bad choice indeed. Ergo all the cursing and the completely snail-like pace from the young, frustrated and grumpy woman who was, at the moment, just reaching the top of the hill. She heaved a sigh and a grin split across her face – she could finally see the Village. All that was left was crossing the dry river, walking through the village and there, she could swear she already saw the smoke and steam rising in the distance, the Bathhouse would be.

"Finally…" she breathed and did her best at picking up her pace. Meanwhile, one, also quite cranky master of the Bathhouse, was, currently, trying his best to keep his eyes open, while he read yet another turned-in-late report from Yoing.

"For Water's sake, the Hell does he mean that "the situation couldn't be avoided"? Sweet Saints of the Underworld that guy is hopeless…" he was about to call the said 'hopeless guy' in for one heck of a verbal beat-down, but then, something started ringing and made Haku's head snap up, all thoughts of hollering at Yoing forgotten. He sprang to his feet and skipped to a bookcase – where a small, now glowing brightly rock lay. Picking it up, the master narrowed his eyes and… almost dropped the rock right then and there. "She's…she's…here!" he whispered throwing the rock back onto its shelf and rushing back to his desk, slam-opening his drawer and pulling out a little, decorated wooden box. Opening it to make sure that the thing that was supposed to be inside was there still, he quickly closed it back up, raised it to his lips, closed his eyes and muttered an incantation. When he was done, the little box disappeared with a quiet poof and the Master of the Otherwold's largest Bathhouse sprinted to his full-length mirror. "Need to check my appearance… do I look okay? Should I change? Should I take a shower? What about shaving? Nnn…. Imma do everything… just to be safe…"he finally muttered already starting to take of his jacket, while he turned and practically skipped towards his bathroom. Yoing, who was standing frozen on his doorstep, his hand raised to knock, his mouth hanging open – put down his hand and muttering "I'll come back later…" silently slipped away, completely unnoticed by his Master.

Chihiro, meanwhile, was already half-way through the empty village. Walking through the deserted streets somehow made her feel completely at ease.

"That's so weird…" the young woman hummed to herself. "This place used to scare me half to death when I was little…"she slowed her pace and simply spent some time wondering the streets aimlessly, enjoying the peace and quiet that the daytime provided. When she finally reached the bridge that, in her mind, connected the two worlds, His and Hers, she stopped again. Smiling, Chihiro tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear nervously and lifted her foot to take a first step onto the bridge and into her, so long awaited, life, but then she had to put her foot right back down as she felt her pocket heating up. "The heck.." she murmured putting her hand into the heating space and pulling out a little, beautifully carved, wooden box. Her eyebrow rose and she slowly lifted the lid open. Then she squealed. A squeal that, had he heard it, would have made one certain Master extremely pleased with his skills at making certain jewelry for certain young female. However, said Master was currently scrubbing away in the shower, whistling lightly and so, missed the whole event completely. "Wow…" Chihiro breathed as she pulled out a pendant on a simple string. The pendant itself, however, was anything but simple – it was shaped like a dragon, colored with blue, white and silver and the most amazing part was – the little dragon was moving. Chihiro stood mesmerized as the tiny creature flew and flipped and turned in the crevice of her palms. A full grin blooming on her face, young woman took the string and tied it into a knot over her neck, leaving enough string for the dragon to move as it pleased. Completely baffling her yet again, however, her new tiny friend rolled into some sort of a circle as it were, lying comfortably against her collar bone and seemed to drift off to sleep. Barely containing another girly squeal from escaping, Chihiro finally took that first step onto the bridge…

Haku, who was, at the meantime, rubbing shampoo on his hair, stiffened and grinned.

"It's on her neck then." He hummed happily and then sputtered – the shampoo had run down the side of his face and was now, surprise surprise, peacefully flowing straight into his grinning mouth… the Master of the Bathhouse rolled his eyes and… howled – now he had shampoo in his eyes as well. With an angry growl, he waved a hand and water started pouring down from the ceiling of his shower, effectively washing all the shampoo away. "Thank the Water she wasn't here to witness this…fail…" he grumbled getting out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist, already thinking about what he should wear in order to impress his Mistress.

As soon as her foot landed, the young woman felt a breath of wind surround her and she stopped for a moment gasping – the up to now completely masked from her eyes Spirit World had opened its curtain and there, before her, was the bridge, full of Spirits, who were busying along to and fro the Bathhouse all deep in their own business. When the wind fell, however, the Spirits froze; apparently, the curtain was lifted from their eyes as well. Chihiro bit her lip in worry – perhaps… coming here without Haku by her side wasn't such a good idea after all…

But then all the Spirits bowed as one and blinking, the young woman realized that they were bowing before her.

"Oh…boy…" she muttered completely at a loss of what she was supposed to do now. Thankfully, someone seemed to take pity on the poor, confused girl and then she had her arms full of a squealing, laughing mess.

"Sen! I mean, Chihiro! Finally, you're here!" Chihiro laughed, hugging the other female and grinned.

"Lin! I missed you so bad." She muttered into her friend's long hair and sighed – finally, finally she was beginning to feel like she was home again.

"So…" Lin started after bustling Chihiro inside and into her own living quarters for some privacy. "How have you been all this time? So many years have passed… I was really worried you wouldn't even remember me, to be perfectly honest with you…" she finished grinning and Chihiro couldn't help but grin back.

"Yeah, no way I would ever forget my first friend. Speaking of many… how many years have I been gone, exactly?" she asked and Lin frowned.

"Urm…" she frowned some more and started counting on her fingers. "Ten…no, twenty? Or is it thirty something already? Heh, to be honest, I've lost count. I mean, don't get me wrong, I missed you, but I didn't exactly spend every waking moment of my day counting the seconds you were gone either. Unlike someone I know." She added winking and the younger girl blushed.

"He missed me, you think?" she bit her lip worriedly then. "He did give me this…"she muttered fingering her dragon, "…but… it was my idea to come here and maybe he didn't want that and oh my god what if this is all in my head and…" Lin's eyebrows shot up and she started laughing at the almost hyperventilating girl.

"Whoa, Chihiro, would you listen to yourself? The Master is head over heels in love with you, that, I guarantee you. I mean, this thing," she pointed to the dragon which hissed at her finger, "this is beyond priceless and difficult beyond belief to make. The share, pure magic that had to go into it… it makes me weak just thinking about it…So yeah, I'd say he most definitely missed you." Chihiro beamed and Lin shook her head, those two were just perfect for each other weren't they?

"Enough about all that though, tell me what you've been up to all this time!"

"Hehehe… well, first, when I was finished with my slaving under Yubaba, I took the train and…"

By the time both girls were done catching up, it had fallen dark outside and Lin had to get straight to work. With a final wink and a wish to 'make up for the lost time', she left the younger female by the elevator that would take her straight to Haku and ran to work. Taking one final deep breath, Chihiro called for the elevator, got on, willed her blush under control and stepped out of it, a smile adorning her face. However… instead of a warm welcome or, actually, any sort of welcome in general, the corridor was dark. Blinking away the dread, creeping into her chest, Chihiro walked, her pace increasing by the step, down corridor after corridor, taking, what she vaguely remember being the way to Yubaba's old office. The chamber she came upon was well lit and stacked with as many trinkets on every surface as she remembered. Taking a cautious step inside, the young woman took a look around, only to find herself completely alone.

"Well… can't say this is the welcome I exp-"

"MASTER HAKU, SIR!" Chihiro jumped at the loud voice and then blinked, when a totally out of breath young boy came tumbling through the door only to stop at a screeching halt upon seeing her. After a moment of silence, said boy gasped and then smacked himself over the head loudly. "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID ME! HE'S GONE ALREADY! ARGH, WHAT TO DO, WHATTODOWHATTODONOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" he wailed as he dropped to his knees and started banging his head against the floor. Raising an eyebrow, Chihiro walked over to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Hey there, won't you calm down, please?" when the banging stopped, she gave him an encouraging smile and continued. "You're Yoing, I take it?" the boy's eyes widened to such extents she feared for a while they might fall out, but finally, he nodded in affirmative and answered her.

"And you're our Mistress." Only a second later did she realize that it wasn't a question.

"I..am?" Yoing started nodding furiously.

"Uhu! The Master would always call you that and since there's a portrait of you in his chambers and I saw it once I knew at once that you're her!"

"His chambers huh…" Chihiro asked slyly and was about to ask Yoing to show her the way, when his eyes widened again and he gasped loudly.

"You're here!" she sweat-dropped.

"Indeed I am. And?"

"And! That means you can help me! There's been a horrible mix-up with the bath tokens and everyone's in a panic downstairs, because Kamadzi is on a boycott and-!" he ran out of breath then and doubled over wheezing.

"I see. Well then, I guess I've no choice but to help you since Haku's not here and i'm apparently, the Mistress now. I'm a bit foggy on the way though, so you go first." Yoing had actual tears in his eyes when she said this and nodded furiously before gathering up the stack of papers he had tossed to the air upon entering the chamber and rushed out, leading her to the boiler room. As it turned out, Kamadzi was indeed on a boycott for even before Chihiro had the chance to enter the boiler room, she could hear the old spider's rants loud and clear.

"…absolute nonsense! I will not stand for this any longer. If you fools cannot even decide among yourselves how many tablets are enough for one quota, I will not- oh… oh my, Chihiro, my dear child. You've returned!" the old boiler man jumped from his seat, pushed all the worker spirits aside and rushed the young woman in a hug, making her laugh and squeal with joy.

"Uncle Kamadzi! I've missed you." She muttered hugging him tightly, before releasing him with a smile and then raising an eyebrow. "So, I hear you're boycotting." The old spider tsked and shrugged as he turned and climbed back into his seat. "Come now, Uncle, that's not nice. You're going to give poor Yoing an aneurysm. Why don't you just give them the water they all want so they would all leave and we could catch up?" while Kamadzi did just that, grumbling all the while mind you; the worker spirits all gave Chihiro thankful glances and bows before leaving quickly to resume their work.

When the old boiler man was finally done with sending herb filled water for every tablet he received and turned to his 'granddaughter', he found her curled up on the floor, fast asleep. Shaking his head, Kamadzi gently put a blanket over her sleeping form and returned to work, instructing his coaly workers to work as quietly as possible.

By the time sun rose in the morning, the Master of the Bathhouse had returned. As usual, he came in through the boiler room, in order to avoid the workers that still weren't quite asleep. The last thing he wanted after these all-nighters were to hear spirits complain. Just imagine his surprise when upon entry, he saw none other than his Mistress, sound asleep, on Kamadzi's floor. His expression softening and a smile flowing to his eyes, Haku picked her up as gently as possible and then proceeded to carry her all the way to the top floor of the Bathhouse, through his office, study and into the master bedroom, where he laid her onto the bed. Then, as softly as possible, he took of her shoes and jacket, let her hair down from the ponytail it was in, put the covers over her and failed to stifle a yawn of his own. Rubbing a hand over his tired eyes, Haku went to the other side of the bed, tossing of his clothing as he went, got into it, made sure Chihiro was covered up properly and wouldn't get cold while sleeping and…felt asleep as fast as his head hit the pillow.

She woke from the waves on anxiety that were washing over her. Still groggy from sleep, Chihiro tore her eyes open only to see the worried sick expression of Yoing, who was fretting besides the bed.

"What's up?" she asked covering a yawn and blinked when the spirit shushed her, looking terrified.

"Master's still sleeping!" he hissed hurriedly tossing a fearful glance over her shoulder, "And I don't know what to do! One of our ovens exploded down at the kitchens and there's a huge party of high-ranking spirits coming in tonight and now we can't prepare the feast they pre-ordered and I don't know what to doooooo!" Chihiro sighed and waved the hyperventilating spirit away.

"Hush now. I'll be right there. You go on ahead, I'll expect a full damage report as soon as I'm down." Tears streaming down his face, Yoing nodded furiously as he skedaddled out of the bedroom and down the corridor. The young woman stretched as she looked around and then blushed, realizing she had slept in the same bed as the afore mentioned Master of the Bathhouse. Suddenly, Yoing's panic and hushed whispering made much more sense. Even through the embarrassment, she had to giggle – the situation must have looked terrifying to the poor spirit. The young woman got up, redressed quickly (she found her bags right there, by the bed, how- she didn't really care) and went straight down to the kitchens, where an oven had indeed, exploded. Struggling not to face-palm Chihiro rolled her sleeves up and got straight into doing everything possible to save the situation…

With a loud yawn, Haku woke up, feeling rested and refreshed and for the first time in, what felt like forever, truly happy. Feeling a ridiculous grin pull at his lips, he rolled over, only to have the grin evaporate – he was alone in the bed.

"Chi..?" he muttered crawling over to her side of the bed and his eyebrow rose as he noticed the little piece of paper placed on the pillow where her head was supposed to be resting. 'It seems there's some trouble in the kitchens. I'm heading down there to see if I can do anything to help. P.S. you look adorable while you sleep. –C' Spluttering, Haku got up and went to the shower, fighting down his blush. "You're the adorable one, you dummy…" while he was bathing, an urgent missile from the Spirit World Leaders arrived, thus pulling him not only from the shower, but from the Bathhouse as well, leaving his domain in the quickly learning hands of his Mistress. Speaking of whom, Chihiro was neck deep into preparing a feast for the night's festivities when her dragon necklace awoke.

"Huh? What's this?" the woman blinked when her dragon yawned and unwove from its place on her collarbone only to fly up to her ear.

"My Chi."

"HAKU?!" the plates she was carrying promptly crashed to the floor and the worker spirits around her froze in shock.

"Yep. Sadly, I was called away on urgent business. I am not quite sure how long I'll be away." Before she could so much as open her mouth to complain, her little dragon continued, "I entrust my Bathhouse to your capable hands, my Chi. I promise to return as soon as I possibly can. I…" it was obvious he struggled for a moment before finishing, "I'll see you soon." And just like that, the dragon flew back down and curled into a ball on her collarbone.

"M-mistress?" Yoing tried and then yelped – her eyebrow was twitching and Chihiro heard herself growl.

"That… that… UGH! Almighty Master my ass! WHY ARE YOU LOT JUST STANDING THERE? BACK TO WORK, NOW!" the worker spirits did as bade trying not to squeal and soon, the kitchens were bustling with cooking noises and a terrified glance here or there.

In the morning, when the huge party was over and done with without a glitch, when the Bathhouse was closed for the day, when the workers were fast asleep, Chihiro dragged her exhausted body to the top floor, stumbled her way into the bedchambers and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep way before her head hit the pillows. She awoke half a day later. Alone. His side of the bed looked untouched. Needless to say, the young woman was annoyed and quite rightly so. However, there was nothing she could do, really. So she sighed, got up and went to have a nice long soak in the ridiculously huge bath that was just next door. She must have drifted off, because Yoing, who barged in, seemingly but a second later, made her flinch.

"MISTRESS, THERE'S TROUBLE-!" Chihiro sighed, resigned to her fate, wrapped a towel around herself and came out of the bathroom.

"Yoing, calm yourself and tell me what's wrong…"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Spirit World, Haku was putting his best efforts into not killing everyone sitting around the table he was currently sitting at.

"We've been at this for two days already. How much longer are you going to keep this pointless debate up?" he asked raking his fingers through his long locks and sighing. The Spirit World leaders started bristling about again, but Haku was quickly losing any remnants of patience he had left. Finally, he banged a hand on the table and stood up, green flames coming out of his mouth as he raised his voice over the ruckus. "Enough." It might have been the flames, because he didn't shout, he had more class than that, but the spirits quieted down. "I am leaving now." Before anyone could protest, he continued, tossing a deathly glare their way for good measure. "I will give you a week, which means seven days, count with me here, se-ven da-ys, to figure out this issue. If you lot cannot manage to resolve the issue by then, I will do so myself. Whatever way I see fit. That is all." He finished, turned and, without waiting for anymore comments or protests or anything, really, went to the balcony, turned into a dragon and flew away. Straight for his Bathhouse and his Mistress.

By the time he managed to get back, another full day had passed and Chihiro was, yet again, in the kitchens, orchestrating yet another major party, which was to take place that evening. Upon his landing, Haku was met by Yoing and his report.

"So, what's wrong?" the Master asked out of habit and was surprised when instead of a flinch, he got a smile from his assistant.

"Absolutely nothing, my Master, the Mistress has been taking excellent care of everything in your absence." He said gloating and for some odd reason, Haku felt annoyed.

"And where might I find the Mistress?" his tone made Yoing flinch, which in turn made Haku strangely satisfied. Shrugging of the weird surges of emotions, he focused on what his assistant was saying.

"That would be the kitchens, Master. Oh no, wait." He said quickly glancing at his sandwatch, "At this time of day you should find her in the gardens, she usually takes a break right about now." Ignoring a painful pang in his chest, Haku nodded and turned on his heel to leave for the gardens, mumbling under his breath, something about how 'learning her routine should be his business and no one else's'.

He did indeed find her in the gardens. She was lying on a blanket, in the middle of a field of blue flowers, looking serene, comfortable. A smile touched her lips as he approached and she purred, stretching.

"About damn time, Master." The way she said that did things to him Haku wasn't quite ready to admit yet.

"I see you're wearing my gift. May I take that as a sign that you like it?" she cracked an eye open and grinned up at him.

"Why don't you get over here so I can show you just how much I like it…" he didn't need to be asked twice. Haku dropped to his knees beside her just as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck to pull him down into a kiss. Their lips touched in a gentle greeting, which soon turned wild, desperate, their time apart having left them aching for each other's taste and touch. His hands ran over her shoulders, arms, her torso, seemingly trying to touch all of her, learn all of her, commit each curve, each detail to memory forever. Chihiro gasped and shivered beneath his touch, giving herself to him wholly and completely. Her hands wandered as well, touching his nape, fingers running through his hair, caressing his cheeks, resting on his lips as she told him stories with her eyes. Suddenly, all the hurry seemed to evaporate and their movements turned slow, sensual, unhurried. They learned each other, they made love to each other, they showered one another in kisses and soft touches that promised many more to come…

Chihiro couldn't help the content smile from coloring her lips as she watched the sunset, curled on Haku's chest.

"I could get used to this." Haku muttered making her giggle.

"Having sex in the gardens?" The Master of the Bathhouse laughed aloud at her boldness.

"Having you in my arms."

"I…" she started, but… Haku's shell started buzzing and with each passing second, the buzzing grew more and more urgent.

"GODSDAMN THESE BLOODY INTERRUPTIONS!" needless to say, the Master of the biggest Bathhouse in the Spirit World had lost his patience. As Chihiro buried her face in his chest with a groan, he stifled a sigh and put the shell to his ear. "Ya feel like dying..?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any thoughts and comments would be more than appreciated ^.^


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